LOWERED RIVER CREST BRINGS RELIEF, BUT RAINS A WORRY

PERRYVILLE -- Word Tuesday that the National Weather Service had revised the Mississippi River flood crest at Chester, Ill., brought a big sigh of relief in the Bois Brule Levee District.

Instead of cresting today at 32 feet, the Mississippi at Chester was expected to crest at 29.6 feet, 2.6 feet above flood stage.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is expected to crest on Friday for the 11th time this year at 35 feet. But that's 2 feet below the 37-foot flood crest that was forecast earlier this week.

The lower flood crest at Chester was welcome news to the Army Corps of Engineers and Bois Brule Levee District officials because work is under way to build a temporary rock levee to repair a 1,000-foot-long breach that occurred in July in the levee east of Menfro.

Over the weekend levee district officials expressed fears the temporary levee could not be raised high enough by today to provide flood protection at the 32-foot level. But a Corps official said late Tuesday that the levee had been raised high enough by Tuesday afternoon to provide 5 feet of freeboard at a 32-foot flood crest.

When the temporary levee is completed in late December, it will provide flood protection to a stage of 40 feet on the Chester gauge while permanent repairs are made to the earthen levee.

As a precaution, the levee district started four pumps in the Menfro area to pump rainwater that fell over the weekend inside the district.

After cresting today, the river at Chester is forecast to drop to 27.8 feet by Friday.

At Cape Girardeau, the Mississippi has risen over 10 feet since Saturday. The river rose to 31.9 feet on Tuesday, up 2.2 feet from Monday. It was expected to rise to 33.7 feet today, 34.9 feet on Thursday, and 35 feet on Friday. Flood stage at Cape Girardeau is 32 feet.

Both the Mill Street and Merriwether Street pump stations were reactivated Monday afternoon when the river reached 30 feet at Cape Girardeau. Andy Juden, president of the Main Street Levee District, said he will wait until Thursday to decide on whether to close the Themis Street floodgate.

"It depends on how much more rain we get this week," said Juden. "Thirty-five feet is right at the level that we normally close the gate, but we're going to wait and see what happens."

Sharp rises on the Mississippi River below Ste. Genevieve were caused by heavy rains that fell Saturday and Sunday in southern Missouri and Illinois.

The Ohio River at Cairo is expected to crest on Saturday at 39.5 feet, one-half foot below flood stage.

At Murphysboro, Ill., the Big Muddy River was expected to crest Saturday at 38 feet, 22 feet above flood stage. The weather service said the 38-foot crest will tie the record crest set in 1961.

All of this week's crest predictions and river stages are based on no substantial rain after Tuesday.

But rain set in again Tuesday night. Flash flood warnings were in effect for all of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Between midnight and 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, .67 of rain fell in Cape Girardeau, according to the Missouri Weather Cooperative at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport.

"It's covering the whole state of Missouri," a spokesman said of the rain. "It's going to be a pretty nasty night, I'm afraid."